updates from the bench — K. Claire MacDonald Jewellery Design & Sculpture Blog

Summer Learning Inside and Outside the Studio

It’s been such a beautiful summer here in Nova Scotia. The summer season certainly got off to a slow start; it feels like not long ago everyone was in a collective slump moping around the city due to the unseasonably cool and wet weather stuck around for a lot of May and June. All good things come eventually though, and here we are nearing the end of August having enjoyed plenty of indulgently warm days and long evenings of daylight.

It’s been a good summer, and this year I’ve really tried to allow myself to enjoy it, and to take it all in. As a self-employed jeweller it can be difficult to let go of the tight reigns I hold on my business in order to take a day or an evening, or even a whole weekend away from my studio to relax. I realized that by stepping out of my studio to explore and connect with people and places, I end up returning to my studio with a more efficient mental headspace to tackle my work, and a renewed inspiration to create new designs.

Your Jewellery Needs Some Spring Cleaning Too!

As the temperatures begin to rise, the ground slowly thaws, and the days become more light-filled, it’s hard not to catch a flutter of springtime energy. I often find myself feeling a renewed motivation to clean and organize my home in order to eliminate the stale air that accumulated over winter, and to welcome the fresh scent of spring!

Amidst the flurry of spring cleaning, you may stumble across some jewels that you had stashed away that have become lacklustre, and maybe even badly tarnished. Just like your home, your jewels need a little cleaning sometimes too in order to look fresh, and just like new.

I’d like to share with you a simple cleaning method for removing tarnish, grease, and dirt on sterling silver jewellery. Following these simple steps, you can bring all your jewels out of winter hibernation, and back to their sparkly original state!

Standing Up to Creative Burnout

Nova Scotia is a province with four very distinct seasons. Seeing as there are only twelve months of the year, we find ourselves in seasonal transition about once every three months. As a creative person, my practice also goes through different “seasons”, and just as some seasons, like summer, tend to be more enjoyable than others (ahem..winter) not all seasons of my creative practice are filled with easy, breezy, sunny days.

updates from the benchK. Claire MacDonaldMarch 17, 2019creativity, burnout, motivation, process, studio, inspiration

Behind the Scenes: Fading Vestiges

The main reason I’ve worked towards maintaining a blog over the past few years is that I love sharing insight into the process behind my work. I’ve always been a huge advocate for taking the time to offer others a glimpse into the “behind-the-scenes” of my art practice; I believe educating others is this is the first step towards fostering greater appreciation for craftsmanship, and all things made by hand.

While I currently have a body of sculptural works on exhibition in a show titled “Fading Vestiges” at the Mary E. Black Gallery in Halifax, I wanted to take the opportunity to share some insight into the creation of some of these works. For me, the process of designing and troubleshooting the technical implications of each piece was in most cases, even more satisfying than the finished pieces themselves.

Updates From the Bench: A Peek Into My Design Process

One of the most common questions I get asked about my work is “How do you come up with your designs?”. I’m going to guess that a lot of creative people get asked this question or similar ones often. “Where do your designs originate? How do you start when faced with a blank canvas?” All valid questions, but ones for which I find it hard to come up with quick, succinct, and satisfying answers.

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